LA VERNE – Bonita High School was unable to find its rhythm and was upset by Hoover of Glendale 63-48 Friday night in the first round of the CIF-SS Division II-AA boys basketball playoffs.

The Tornadoes (16-11) were able to get out to a fast start in the first quarter. Shara Davoodi (17 points in the game) and Shara Babakhanians (26 points) found open 3-point shots to help them take a 22-9 lead after the opening period.

The Bearcats (24-4) were unable to get on track as they were pressured from beyond the arc and missed their first six shots, allowing Hoover to race out to a 9-3 lead.

“We were out of sync all night. To be honest with you, we did not practice well (Thursday),” Bonita coach Greg Eckler said. “They (the Tornadoes) deserved tonight. They outhustled us, they out-toughed us and they wanted it more.”

The Tornadoes capitalized on the fact the Bearcats continued to leave either Davoodi or Babakhanians open for shots throughout the first half and built an 18-point lead midway through the second quarter.

The Bearcats finally came to life when Tanner Zylstra pulled down one of his six offensive rebounds and found Robert Schmitt open for a 3-pointer, starting a 14-5 run as they went into halftime down by nine.

The start of the second half was a replay of the first as the Tornadoes went on a 9-0 run to start the third quarter, punctuated by Babakhanians’ 3-pointer.

“Since it was a CIF game, we all came out pumped up and we were executing,” Babakhanians said.

Bonita finally broke its scoring drought when Nolan Abernathy got to the foul line at the 3:02 mark.

The Bearcats made one final run at the beginning of the fourth quarter, holding Hoover scoreless for 4:36, but could only get as close as 10 points.

The Bearcats were led by Abernathy’s game-high 17 points and Zylstra’s 10 rebounds.

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